World rolls

28072014

Liberia closes border amid spread of deadly Ebola virus

Liberia has shut most of its border crossings and restricted public gatherings in the country in an attempt to curb the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, Reuters reported.“All borders of Liberia will be closed with the exception of major entry points. At these entry points, preventive and testing centers will be established, and stringent preventive measures to be announced will be scrupulously adhered to,” Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said while speaking at a task force meeting on Sunday. Public gatherings such as marches, demonstrations, and promotional advertisements have also been restricted under the new measures. The deadly virus has already gripped the Western Africa countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, killing at least 660 people in the worst outbreak in history.

At least 5 killed in Nigeria bomb attacks

At least five people were killed and eight others injured in a bomb attack on a Catholic church in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano on Sunday. “We suspect an IED (improvised explosive device) that was thrown from across the road” at the church, police spokesman Frank Mba told AFP. Also in Kano, a female suicide bomber blew herself up outside a university, injuring five officers after police prevented her from entering the building. No one has yet claimed the responsibility for the attacks. Officials blame Islamist Boko Haram militants which are active in the region.

Black boxes from crashed Air Algérie plane sent to France

The black boxes from the Air Algérie plane disaster began their journey to France from northern Mali on Sunday, Mali’s communications minister, Mahamadou Camara, told AFP. The flight data recorder and cockpit recorder were recovered from the remote desert crash site and handed over to French authorities in the capital Bamako. French experts are to examine the plane’s flight data recorders and other information, including the prevailing weather conditions at the time. Air Algérie flight AH 5017 went down in Mali’s Gossi region on Thursday, killing all 118 passengers and crew members on board.

14 injured as lightning strikes people in Southern California

Fourteen people, including a fifteen-year-old, were injured after they were struck by lightning in Southern California on Sunday. Thirteen of those people were struck at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, and a 57-year-old was also hit while on a golf course on Catalina Island. Nine people have been hospitalized, while the rest were treated at the scene, said Los Angeles fire spokeswoman Katherine Main. Two people are reportedly in critical condition.

Mali launches investigation into Air Algérie crash

Malian authorities have launched an investigation to establish the cause of the Air Algérie crash in Mali. The plane was carrying 118 people, including entire families, when it crashed on Thursday. No one survived. France lost the largest number of people in the accident, with 54 nationals killed. Paris began its own preliminary investigation into the crash last week.

Majority of Georgia without power

A high-voltage power line failure has crippled Georgia’s electricity supply, leaving the majority of the country with no electricity on Sunday evening, local media reported. A massive outage damaged the 500/220 kV transfer line, Energy Ministry head Irakli Gaprindashvili said, according to Pirveli news agency. An investigation is underway to determine what caused the damage in the first place. Georgian authorities will be working to restore electricity in stages, according to Gaprindashvili. The majority of the outages have been reported in the western part of the country. The power outage affected Tbilisi’s subway and television tower. Earlier, there were reports of flooding in western Georgia’s Vani region.

Polish journalist injured in eastern Ukraine

Polish journalist Bianca Zalewska has been injured in eastern Ukraine “in the area of anti-terrorist operations (ATO),” the ATO’s press-service said in a statement on Facebook. It claims the journalist was taken to the nearest hospital in the town of Starobilsk in the Lugansk region.”Given her critical state of health, the patient was immediately evacuated by helicopter to Kharkov for professional medical care,” the statement reads.

British embassy convoy comes under attack in Libya’s Tripoli

A British embassy convoy in Tripoli was “subject to an attempted carjacking” Sunday early Sunday morning, a spokesman for London’s mission in Libya, Bob Phillipson, said.“Shots were fired at our vehicles but they managed to drive on and leave the area,” he told journalists. There were no injuries and “all embassy personnel are safe and accounted for.” Britain advised its citizens to leave the country on Sunday.

Pilot dies as MIG-29 fighter jet crashes in southern Russia

A MIG-29 fighter jet has crashed in southern Russia, killing the pilot. According to initial data, the cause of the accident was a technical failure, the head of the air force General Viktor Bondarev told journalists. The accident happened as the pilot was carrying out a planned test flight in the Astrakhan region. Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the pilot was given a command to eject, but “trying to save the plane”he did not leave the controls and died.

​Philippines celebrates birth of 100-millionth citizen amid overpopulation concerns

Jennalyn Sentino, one of 100 babies born in state hospitals in the Philippines on Sunday, was symbolically designated “the 100,000,000th baby” to mark the country’s passing the population threshold. “This is both an opportunity and a challenge… an opportunity we should take advantage of and a challenge we recognize,” Juan Antonio Perez, executive director of the official Commission on Population, told AFP. The Philippines remain among the poorest countries in the world, and its economy is struggling to grow on par with its population. The government wants to overcome resistance from the Roman Catholic Church and promote birth control to lower fertility rate by a third, from the current three children per woman per lifetime, thereby stabilizing growth.

Costa Concordia ends its final voyage, docks in Genoa

More than two years after it ran aground, the cruise liner Costa Concordia has been towed to the port of Genoa by eight separate tugboats. The cost of the salvage operation that began last year is estimated at $2 billion – more than three times more than that of the ship itself. 32 people died in the accident off the coast of Italy in January 2012, which was declared to have been caused by the actions of the captain.

15 killed as typhoon Matmo hit China

At least 15 have been killed and thousands left in need of basic subsistence as a result of typhoon Matmo that swept through China, the Civil Affairs Ministry said on Sunday. Nine deaths were reported in eastern Jiangxi province and four in southern Guangdong province, while nearly 290,000 residents have been relocated and some 37,000 are in urgent need of basic living supplies, the ministry said. Downgraded to a tropical storm, it has still caused direct economic losses of 3.37 billion yuan ($547 million) the ministry said.

Malaysia Airlines rethinking entire business strategy

Malaysia Airlines will “change its name and restructure its routes” in the wake of two major tragedies happening in the space of only six months. These are not the only things the airline plans to give a makeover, the rest are being discussed presently, the Mail reports. The changes are to be finalized shortly after the death of the 298 passengers about flight MH17, which was downed over Ukraine on July 17, and the earlier disappearance of flight MH370 on March 8, which carried 239 passengers.

Suspected Boko Haram fighters attack Cameroon, capture vice PM’s wife

Militants allegedly from Boko Haram, a militant Islamist organization based in northern Nigeria, have attacked a town in northern Cameron, said the country’s military commander, as cited by Reuters. He added that the alleged militants also took the wife of Cameroon’s vice prime minister hostage and killed at least three people.

​Egypt destroys more tunnels used by Hamas in fight against Israel

Egypt’s military has destroyed a further 13 tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip with the Sinai Peninsula, bringing the total to 1,639, Naharnet reports. While the army’s mission to destroy the tunnels started in the aftermath of former leader Mohamed Morsi’s ouster, Cairo’s incentive for doing so also has to do with curbing activities by Hamas, the Palestinian group currently defending the Gaza Strip against Israel. While both Muslim, Egypt’s relationship with Hamas has cooled since Morsi’s ouster. Hamas used to be the affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi’s party. Furthermore, Cairo accuses Hamas of complicity in terrorist attacks inside Egypt as well.

400 bodies discovered in Bolivian mass grave

The remains of 400 people, presumed to be miners, lying in a mass grave, were discovered in the Bolivian city of Potosi, at a silver mine. The remains were discovered at a depth of two meters and are thought to date back 500 years, to the time of the Spanish conquest, ITAR-TASS reports.

​Scores killed in Libyan clashes as country descents into chaos

At least 59 people have been killed in Libya since Saturday, as the country became mired in the worst violence since the 2011, when a NATO bombing campaign allowed local militias overthrow and kill strongman Muammar Gaddafi. At least 36 died in clashes between government forces and Islamist militants in Benghazi, the ‘cradle’ of the anti-Gaddafi uprising. And in capital Tripoli, 23 Egyptian workers were killed when a rocket hit their home amid clashes between rival militias. The escalation of violence prompted the evacuation on Saturday of international organizations and foreign embassies from the disintegrating country.

Israel resumes Gaza offensive amid humanitarian truce

The IDF has resumed fighting in the Gaza Strip, saying that Hamas ignored a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire.“Following Hamas’ incessant rocket fire throughout the humanitarian window, which was agreed upon for the welfare of the civilian population in Gaza, the (army) will now resume its aerial, naval and ground activity in the Gaza Strip,” a statement from Israeli forces said.

Earlier, Israel extended the humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza for 24 hours, but said that it will retaliate if Hamas fires rockets from Gaza territory. But the Palestinian militant group rejected Israel’s proposition.

​US doctor catches Ebola amid African outbreak

A 33-year-old American doctor working for a relief organization in Liberia has tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus. Dr Kent Brantly, who directs one of the country’s two treatment centers run by the Samaritan’s Purse recognized his own symptoms and confined himself to an isolation ward. It was not immediately clear how the doctor contacted the disease, which has already killed at least 660 people during its latest outbreak across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – or about 60 percent of those diagnosed.

​Fighter jet crashes in southeastern Russia

A Russian MiG-29 fighter jet has crashed near the city of Astrakhan, in southeastern Russia, killing the pilot, said Viktor Bondarev, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force. “[We] are investigating the incident. According to preliminary reports, the crash was caused by a technical failure,” he added. The flight commander ordered the pilot to eject, but the pilot hesitated trying to save the vehicle and was killed, said spokesman for the ministry, Igor Konashenkov. The defense ministry has deployed a commission to investigate the incident at the crash site, the ministry said in a statement.

​Russia lays down two nuclear submarines

A Borei-class submarine – “Knyaz Oleg” and a Yasen-class multipurpose attack submarine “Krasnoyarsk” are to be laid down in the city of Severodvinsk, north-western Russia on Sunday, a spokesman for the Russian Navy told RIA Novosti. The two advanced nuclear-propelled submarines were expected to be laid down last week, but the ceremony was postponed to coincide with the celebration of the Russian Navy Day.

Japan denounces North Korea’s missile launch

The Japanese government lodged a protest and denounced North Korea’s Saturday missile launch which came in “violation of UN Security Council resolutions,” local Mainichi newspaper reported. “We need to let them know that nuclear and missile development and economic revival won’t go together,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said during a trip to Mexico. Japan’s defense minister, Itsunori Onodera, ordered to gather information and stay on full alert, a ministry official told local media. North Korea fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan on Saturday at 9:40 p.m. local time in a northeastern direction without advanced warning; neither a no-fly nor no-sail zone were imposed, according to South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff.

Wildfires prompt evacuation of 1,000 California residents

A wildfire has forced the evacuation of about 1,200 residents in a rural area east of the California state capital of Sacramento, according to fire officials. The fire, which is centered about 8 km north of the town of Plymouth and 50 kilometers east of Sacramento, destroyed five residences and two outbuildings, causing one injury, said Lynne Tolmachoff, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, as cited by Reuters. Since the blaze began on Friday, 515 have been evacuated in Amador and El Dorado counties, fire officials said.

15 killed as rockets hit residential building in Libya

At least 15 people died when a residential building was hit during a rocket attack in Tripoli, Libya, Itar-Tass reported. The building, which housed Egyptian workers, was completely destroyed by the explosion. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement warning its citizens to avoid traveling to Libya due to heightened tensions in the country. Three years after the fall of former President Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has slipped into political chaos, with the new government and army unable to control former rebels and militias.

Media agencies

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Thanks Amitabh Bachchan as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Polio

28072014

New Delhi, 27 July: To mark IndiaⳠlandmark achievement of being certified polio-free, UNICEF today celebrated with megastar Amitabh Bachchan who as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Polio, has played a critical role in mobilizing mass support for IndiaⳠpolio immunization campaign.

Over 1000 men and women from Uttar Pradesh and BiharⳠᓯcial Mobilization Network⠨SmNet) came together for the event presided by the Hon⢬e Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, UNICEF India Representative , Mr Louis Georges Arsenault and superstar Amitabh Bacchan. The evening paid tribute to the Vaccinators and Mobilizers who worked tirelessly in the diverse and remote parts of the country, ensuring that every child under age 5 was immunized.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan, the pioneer of the polio eradication programme in India said, 䠉ndiaⳠfeat of being polio-free for three years and receiving WHO certification is indeed a victory for the millions of health and community workers who broke many a barrier to reach out to the unreached children. They are the most powerful voice of the polio eradication movement. They allayed fears and addressed misconceptions. They built partnerships with the local community and religious leadership. It is because of their efforts–of going door to door, administering polio vaccine to children and educating people about the importance of the polio vaccine, that India could achieve this success伯span>

In the context of post-polio India, the Minister stressed the need for building up on the pulse polio experience.

㌥t us, in 2014, revive the 1995 spirit. There are many other diseases demanding pulse polio-like missions involving the coming together of the medical community and general society. So letⳠall work together to ensure ሥalth for All⠦or a better and stronger future,䠄r Harsh Vardhan said.

㉮diaⳠsuccess is a cause for celebration but not complacency. India is polio free but the risk of polio persists. Until the disease is eradicated globally, we need to continue to protect children against the virus and remain in a state of preparedness to respond to any case of poliovirus importation as an emergency,䠳aid, Mr Louis-Georges Arsenault.

Commending Mr BachchanⳠunstinted support towards the cause, he said, ㍲ Bachchan has been the face of polioⳠmass media campaigns for over a decade. His one-liner 㤯 boond zindagi ki䠨two drops of polio vaccine) has been one of the most effective messages in the fight against polio. It had been critical in persuading parents and care-givers to give their children polio vaccines.伯:p>

Each year, around 2.3 million lakh vaccinators, led by 155,000 supervisors, visit 209 million households to administer the polio vaccine during each of these campaigns. Nearly a billion doses of oral polio vaccine are consumed during the campaigns annually.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Bachchan said, 㼯span>IndiaⳊ present polio-free status is a matter of great pride. I feel privileged to have been part of the anti-polio campaign. I am delighted that our efforts in spreading awareness and mobilizing communities for polio vaccination have been successful. But this fight was not an easy one. We must thank the thousands of UNICEF supported SMNet Mobilizers and Government vaccinators who have made this victory possible.䊼o:p>

India was certified polio-free in February 2014– a feat it accomplished overcoming several challenges including population density, high rates of migration, poor sanitation, high birth rates, and low rates of routine immunization in the highest risk states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

However, it must maintain vigilance against any importation of polio until eradication is achieved globally

Mr Arsenault thanked all partners and donors associated with the polio prorgamme Rotary International, WHO, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Core group of NGOs, USAID, JICA and GAVI and acknowledged the contribution of the Aligarh Muslim University and the Jamia Milia Islamia in garnering support of the underserved communities.

Rotary International Past President, Mr Kalyan Banerjee and WHO Representative to India, Dr Nata Menabde were also present at the function.

For further information please visit, Polio Learning Exchange website www.iple.in